13 Answers
13

There are probably well over a hundred real castles converted to hotels in Europe - maintaining a castle is expensive, so most people who own one need to monetize it somehow.

Here's a German site that lists 40 castles and palaces converted into hotels in Germany alone...

The question is: how historical do you want it to be to count as "real"? Older than 200 years? Older than 500?

A pretty solid candidate would be Burg Wernberg in Bavaria: first documented in 1280, never substantially destroyed and rebuilt (which is the case for a great many old castles). However, the historical past is not all that exciting (the castle seems to have changed hands a lot, but was never involved in big historical events).

There's a hostel called Albergue Juvenil Castillo de San Servando in Toledo (Spain) which is in a castle. I have tried it and it's the definitely the most beautiful hostel I've ever been to. Check the website for additional information.

Sure, I don't imagine they're cheap though. A quick Google threw up heaps of sites. It's important to note that often stately homes or chateau are described as castles. To me a castle has a moat and a bridge such as Leeds Castle (not actually in Leeds) staying in one of these might be a little more difficult.

Here are the first three links most of them are in UK though some are in France.

Another option is Oxford castle which was largely destroyed during the English Civil War, but what was left was made into a Gaol. It remained a Prison until 1996 and was subsequently converted into a luxury boutique Hotel.

I have a recollection of staying in the Grand Hotel in Brussels Belgium, that was a converted castle. (But this was decades ago.)

Most western European countries feature castles with owners that need to defray the cost of their upkeep by providing "bed and breakfast" type services to visitors. Check with local travel agents for prices and availability.

Here is a french castle hotels website. I looked around on this website, there is some Renaissance-era castles, but I didn't find any medieval-era castle at first glance.
BTW, in french, castle is translated as "château", if you want to search google or something.

There are quite a few castles in Germany where you can stay overnight. As far as I know some castle owners rent out some of the many (converted) rooms in the castle just to cover the costs they have with maintaining such a building.

Here is a list from for hostels in a castle. Sorry, not many pictures on this page, but you can still look up the castle name on flickr or google images.

Yes it is possible. Especially if you are in a group. Before I had children I organized a annual board-game event in a castle with friends. We were able to rent a castle for around 1000 Euro per weekend, which with around 30 people became quite affordable. I cannot provide you with a link, because they don't have a website. But I found them by asking while walking through the Ardennes in Belgium. The location was also brilliant because of its name "Ny" (Monthy python lovers will know what I mean)

If you are not in a large group, I also know Cortils Castle, which offers self catering accommodation. If you would consider Cortils, I can recommend to arrive late on a moonless night. It gives an erie touch to your arrival.